"You slide this across the barcode scanner on the door handle to get in," Misty said, gesturing to my key card. "And don't lose it." "I won't," I assured her. "Alrighty then. Well, let's get you some clothes for the morning and if you like anything you see, tell me and you can keep it. We have plenty of clothes." I smiled and nodded. "Okay."

I threw the lanyard that the card was hanging from over my neck and followed Misty down a brightly lit corridor to a small room filled with nothing but clothing.

"Browse through the racks," Misty instructed. "If you find something you like, bring it to me so that I can register it as belonging to you. The racks are labeled. Find some clothes for this morning first, then you can look for other stuff. The last few racks should be the ones that are your size." I nodded and walked away to find clothes.

I looked through the rack marked 'Undergarments' first and found some simple panties that were my size and a bra. Then, I found the rack labeled 'Shirts' and began to browse. I saw a few shirts that were brightly colored, but the majority of the shirts were black, like I liked.

I eventually found a Sleeping With Sirens t-shirt and added it to my pile. Finally, I went to the pants section, and picked a pair of Supernatural (my favorite show) sweatpants. I even found a hoodie that said 'My "People Skills" Are "Rusty"', which was another Supernatural thing. On my way back to Misty, I brushed against a rack of nightgowns. One caught my eye. It was a baby blue and said 'Little Princess' with a crown. I grabbed it, too, and trudged my way back to Misty.

"Is this it?" Misty asked when I handed her the clothes. "This is it," I confirmed. She picked up each piece of clothing to find its barcode number and record it. When she got to the nightgown, she raised an eyebrow at me and sent me a knowing glance. I blushed, fighting the urge to flip her off.

No one needs to know that side of me just yet...

Misty put my clothes in a bag for me, and I quickly changed into the clothes for the morning behind the racks, leaving the nightgown in the bag. I put my own nightdress into the bag with the new one, as well as my biker jacket.

Misty led me out of the room and down the hall towards the rooms. They all had numbers that glared at me from brass plates beside the doors.

"This is your stop," Misty said as we came to a door with the number 203 stretching across the brass plate. "Show me how you get into the room." I slid my key card, and the door popped open. Misty nodded approvingly. "Good. Well, I'll let you two get to know each other. Your roommate will give you the tour of Cope, since I'm sure he's awake." A hint of disapproval laced her tone at that last part.

Wait.

He?

"Jared!" Misty said, and knocked loudly on the door. "Jare, you have a new roommate. She's about to come in." "Okay!" A boy's voice yelled back from inside the room. "Bye, sweetie pie," Misty said, and left to man the desk once again.

I slowly entered the dark room. A small snowman night light glowed from a corner by the bunk bed closest to the floor.

Resting on the top bunk, a boy of about seventeen years of age had put down his phone to stare at me. He had wavy brown hair and there were yellowing, old bruises on his face, as well as a long cut that had become a scar running down the length of his left arm. He had bright green eyes and was wearing a Panic! At The Disco shirt and loose sweats. I noticed that he had a tattoo of a wave on the same arm that the long scar was on, as if he was trying to cover up something. The other arm was written all over with Sharpie. I noticed a few of my favorite quotes among the ones written on his arm.

"Hi," the boy spoke suddenly, startling me. I jumped and flinched slightly. He slowly climbed down from his bunk bed and approached me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." I stayed silent, ashamed of myself.

Why am I acting like this?

The boy moved closer to me, and I gasped, remembering Tyler. Suddenly, lack of space between us scared me. I flinched away from him and backed up until my butt hit the door to the room.

"Hey, it's okay," the boy said, still advancing slowly as though I was a deer that he was afraid of spooking. "It's okay. You're safe here with me. I won't hurt you." A tear leaked from my eye as memories began to take over. Tyler. His hands on me. Him inside of me. Me. Alone and trapped and helpless to do anything. Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms engulf me.

I fought to get away as the boy held me tighter, stroking my hair in an attempt to calm me. "Shh. Shh. It's okay. You're okay. You're safe. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." His reassuring words made me want to fall into his arms and accept the comfort that he was offering, but a small part of me warned me not to. I chose to listen. I stayed rigid in his arms as he continued offering moral support and comfort.

When the boy realized that I wasn't ready to give in to him yet, he immediately released me. I sighed in relief as he stepped away from me, running a hand through his hair, messing it up even more than it was. "I'm sorry, you must think I'm weird," he laughed. "I just hate seeing people scared or upset and I especially hate seeing people crying."

I smiled. "No, it's fine," I said, wiping the tears from my eyes. The boy's face immediately sobered when he caught sight of the action. "Hey," he said, and hesitated before gently grabbing my wrist. I flinched slightly, and he sent me a reassuring look.

"I just want you to know, it's okay to cry, especially in here. Everyone breaks down sometimes and I want you to feel like you can break on me because you can. I know I'm just your roommate and you don't know me so you won't trust me right away, but I want you to eventually. I want you to be able to cry in front of me, when I can hold you and comfort you, instead of when you're alone and have to pick up your own pieces. I know this will take time, but hey, I love challenges and I'm more than willing to wait for you."

I smiled and my eyes filled up again.

Stupid boys making me cry.